Chapter 122 The Zhang Family is Targeted by Wild Wolves
The night was very dark.
The moon is very round.
Several families near Zhang Wulai's house were woken up by the noise.
The crowd surrounded them but dared not approach. Everyone held a torch in their hand. Pushing through the crowd, they could see two wild wolves crouching at the entrance of Zhang Wulai's courtyard.
As soon as he saw the two wolves, Xiao Hei jumped excitedly in Cheng Wanwan's arms.
Cheng Wanwan touched its head to comfort it and asked, "What's going on?"
Holding a torch and a kitchen knife, Zhang Dagang said in a terrified voice, "Someone suddenly started banging on the door in the middle of the night. My dad got up to open it and was pinned down by wolves. My mom was pinned down too. Luckily, I ran fast..."
In the yard, Zhang Wulai and Zhang Po Niang each had a wolf behind them. The wolf's front paws were pressing on their backs, and the drool from its mouth dripped onto the back of their heads. The two were so scared that their faces turned pale and they were shaking like sieves.
It was precisely because the two living people were under the clutches of the wolves that the villagers holding torches dared not make any rash moves.
The two sides were locked in a standoff.
There were only four wolves here, while there were at least several dozen of them. They had a good chance of winning, but fighting wolves would inevitably result in injuries. Having a piece of flesh torn off was no joke, and no one dared to risk their lives. Someone mentioned that Aunt Dashan had a wolf cub at home, so the village headman immediately invited the person over.
All eyes fell on the little wolf in Cheng Wanwan's arms.
Xiao Hei kept shouting excitedly.
The village head said, "Mother Dashan, let Xiao Hei lead these wolves into the mountains. We humans and wolves can live in peace and not hurt each other."
Cheng Wanwan's lips curled up into a faint smile. "The people of Dahe Village and the wild wolves in the mountains have lived in peace for decades without any conflict. I want to know why these four wild wolves visited Zhang Wulai's home so late at night. Zhang Wulai, why don't you tell us in detail?"
Zhang Wulai was pinned down by the wild wolf, and his fear turned into anger. "I was just wondering why you keep wild wolves at home. Is it because you raised wolf cubs that attracted all the female wolves from the mountain? A beast is a beast. Can it really guarantee that it won't hurt anyone? Uncle Village Head, when the little wolf leads these wolves halfway, everyone will attack together and kill them all..."
"Awoo..."
Xiao Hei was crawling on the ground, staring at Zhang Wulai with fierce eyes.
Xiao Hei was angry, and the mother wolf also roared. The two wolves squatting at the gate of the yard also roared. In the distant mountains, the howling of wolves could be faintly heard, and it was particularly clear in the night.
Mrs. Zhang trembled and cried out in despair, "Zhang the Scoundrel, stop your babbling and let Aunt Dashan get rid of these wolves first..."
Cheng Wanwan spread her hands and said, "I didn't raise these wolves. They won't listen to anything I say. Zhang Wulai, Dagang's mother, you two should think carefully about how you offended the wild wolves."
For several nights in a row, the wild wolves came and went in a hurry, never staying in the village for long.
Even if the wild wolf really wanted to hurt people, why didn't it go to Aunt Wang's house which was closer next door? Why did it run so far to Zhang Wulai's house?
It must be that Zhang Wulai did something to offend Xiao Hei, and Xiao Hei went to his family to complain, so the mother wolf brought a group of wolves to the door.
However, no matter how Cheng Wanwan thought about it, she couldn't figure out how Zhang Wulai had offended Xiao Hei.
"Leader, take action!" Zhang Wulai shouted angrily, "Everyone in the village should attack together. I don't believe we can't deal with these four wolves!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the mother wolf raised her claws and slashed hard, leaving a deep bloody mark on the back of Zhang Wulai's neck, from which drops of blood dripped down.
He had been incredibly arrogant just moments before, but after being caught, he let out a scream and immediately became listless. Then, the courtyard reeked of urine—Zhang the Scoundrel had wet himself in fear.
The village head was filled with anxiety. Although he looked down on Zhang the scoundrel, they were still from the same village, and as the village head, he had the responsibility and obligation to protect every villager.
He looked at Cheng Wanwan.
Cheng Wanwan calmly shook her head: "Uncle Village Head, wolves hold grudges. There are at least a hundred wolves on the mountain. If we deal with these four, who will deal with the remaining hundred or so? The wolves came to our door late at night, but they didn't kill Zhang Wulai in one bite. They clearly want an explanation. As long as Zhang Wulai admits his mistake, the wolves should leave on their own."
Zhang Wulai didn't dare to move. Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he cursed angrily, "You wretched woman, it's all your fault! You're the one who caused this!"
After being scolded, Mrs. Zhang suddenly remembered what she had done. Early this morning, she passed by Cheng Wanwan's house and secretly took away three pheasants and a wild rabbit. She always thought that it was Zhao the hunter who secretly placed them at the door of Dashan's house. Now it seems that it was not Zhao the hunter at all, but they were sent there by wild wolves that had killed them.
Yesterday, someone in the village said that Cheng Wanwan's family was raising wolf cubs, and that the mother wolf from the mountain was bringing them food. When she heard this, she didn't believe it at all.
She was enjoying her pheasant meal to the fullest when she never expected that wolves would come knocking on her door to collect their debt.
"I, I took three pheasants and a rabbit from Dashan's house this morning. I ate one of the pheasants, and the rest is hanging on the beam of my house..." Mrs. Zhang said tremblingly, "Dagang, hurry up and take the things out."
Zhang Dagang walked carefully into the yard and then into the main room. His younger brothers and sisters, as well as a cousin, were inside the room, all shivering and hugging each other.
He went to the inner room and took the game hanging from the beam. A wolf pounced on it, snatched the prey, and brought it to Cheng Wanwan.
Even though they got the things, the wolves showed no intention of retreating.
Cheng Wanwan sneered.
Taking something without asking is stealing. Mrs. Zhang is more hateful than she imagined.
If the wild wolf hadn't come to her door, four pieces of wild game that originally belonged to her family would have been inexplicably stolen.
He stole a pheasant today, but what shameless things will he do in the future?
She said, "Shouldn't we also make up for the pheasant we ate?"
Mrs. Zhang choked out her breath and said, "I ate it all. How do I compensate you?"
She regretted it so much. If she had known earlier, she would have stewed all these things in one meal. Once they were in her stomach, the wolves would not be able to smell them and would have no chance of finding her.
Cheng Wanwan said calmly, "Chickens in Ping'an Town cost about thirty or forty coins per catty. Even if a pheasant only weighs two catties, it should still be worth at least sixty or seventy coins."
Mrs. Zhang glared at him and said, "This is a pheasant caught by a wolf. Why should I pay you money, Uncle Village Head? Is there any law here?"
The village head waved his hand: "Since that's the case, let's all leave. You've brought everyone here in the middle of the night, and you're not even cooperating to resolve this..."
"I'll pay you back, okay?!"
Mrs. Zhang felt very distressed. She would never have been willing to spend sixty cents to buy meat, but she had already eaten the pheasant and could not spit it out. She had no other choice but to pay compensation. She was also afraid that if she did not sort out the matter clearly, the wild wolf would keep it in mind.
She called out to her niece from her maternal family, "Xiuhong, go to my room and get sixty coins."
After a while, a girl of fifteen or sixteen came out of the house. Under the moonlight and firelight, her round white face was revealed. The girl handed the copper coin in her hand to Zhang Dagang, turned around and went back into the house.
Zhang Dagang counted out sixty coins and handed them to Cheng Wanwan.
Mrs. Zhang's heart was bleeding. She only had a little over two hundred coins in her possessions, and so much was lost in an instant...
Cheng Wanwan looked at the little wolf cub and said, "Xiao Hei, tell your mother that it's getting late, go back and get some rest."
"Awoo... Awoo—"
Little Black barked a few times.
The two wolves immediately let go of Zhang Wulai and Zhang Po Niang, walked towards Xiao Hei, and licked Xiao Hei all over with their tongues. Da Hei also came over and barked.
As soon as Zhang Wulai was freed, he got up from the ground, turned around, grabbed a hoe from the yard, and swung it at the mother wolf.
"Aww—"
A wolf guarding outside the yard jumped over the wall and slapped Zhang Wulai on the back of his head with its claws.
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